Last week’s Christmas winter storm has left at least 91 dead, with over 2.5 million left without power for at least some period of time.
Many of the US deaths were caused by cold exposure, some of whom were pedestrians who became disoriented when walking outside in blizzard conditions. Some became trapped in their cars and were unable to get to warm shelter. Traffic accidents also claimed several victims.
In Synder, New York, near Buffalo, 56.5 inches of snow fell.
The cold temperatures from the storm spread across the US. Even in Houston, temperatures dropped so low that bats lost their grip on the bridges where they make homes.
Millions lost power during the storm. The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) began rolling blackouts to prevent more widespread power outages. In Texas, power outages were much more limited than what was seen in the February 2021 winter storm.
The storm also led to mass cancellations of flights, leading to travel mayhem as travelers were stranded in airports trying to get to their destinations before Christmas day. Southwest Airlines was the hardest hit, with the airline experiencing a meltdown of their planning software. Employees were left to manually schedule crews for flights, and customers were forced to spend several hours on hold with customer service agents in attempts to rebook their flights. The US Department of Transportation has launched an investigation into the cancellations.
